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Title: EVOLUTION OF SNOW LINE IN OPTICALLY THICK PROTOPLANETARY DISKS: EFFECTS OF WATER ICE OPACITY AND DUST GRAIN SIZE

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
; ;  [1]
  1. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo (Japan)

Evolution of a snow line in an optically thick protoplanetary disk is investigated with numerical simulations. The ice-condensing region in the disk is obtained by calculating the temperature and the density with the 1+1D approach. The snow line migrates as the mass accretion rate ( M-dot ) in the disk decreases with time. Calculations are carried out from an early phase with high disk accretion rates ( M-dot {approx}10{sup -7} M{sub sun} yr{sup -1}) to a later phase with low disk accretion rates ( M-dot {approx}10{sup -12} M{sub sun} yr{sup -1}) using the same numerical method. It is found that the snow line moves inward for M-dot {approx}>10{sup -10} M{sub sun} yr{sup -1}, while it gradually moves outward in the later evolution phase with M-dot {approx}<10{sup -10} M{sub sun} yr{sup -1}. In addition to the silicate opacity, the ice opacity is taken into consideration. In the inward migration phase, the additional ice opacity increases the distance of the snow line from the central star by a factor of 1.3 for dust grains {approx}< 10 {mu}m in size and of 1.6 for {approx}> 100 {mu}m. It is inevitable that the snow line comes inside Earth's orbit in the course of the disk evolution if the viscosity parameter {alpha} is in the range 0.001-0.1, the dust-to-gas mass ratio is higher than a tenth of the solar abundance value, and the dust grains are smaller than 1 mm. The formation of water-devoid planetesimals in the terrestrial planet region seems to be difficult throughout the disk evolution, which imposes a new challenge to planet formation theory.

OSTI ID:
21584883
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 738, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/738/2/141; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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